“MEN WANTED

for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”

Sir Ernest Shackleton posted this possibly apocryphal ad in a London newspaper. 5000 applicants replied, eager to experience the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. The ship that would brave the ice was Endurance, named for Shackleton’s family motto: Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer. On December 5, 1914, Endurance set sail from the Grytviken whaling station on South Georgia island and immediately encountered pack ice. The speed of the voyage was greatly diminished, and on February 14, the ship was fully trapped near the southern end of Vahsel bay.

After vain attempts to free the ship with picks and saws, Shackleton resigned himself and the crew to wait for winter’s end. He ordered a camp established on the ice as strong winds and currents might crush the ship. Indeed, on October 24, the hull of Endurance splintered and took on water, but nearly a month passed before it fully sank. The crew salvaged what they could and spent the next five months marching across the ice, dragging three small lifeboats. They were forced to use them when the ice suddenly split beneath their camp. These boats, each little more than twenty feet in length, were now the crew’s home for the next week. They rowed and used makeshift sails in order to reach Elephant Island, 560 miles from where they left Endurance. One year, four months, and ten days after departing South Georgia island, they were once again on land

Elephant island was remote and rarely visited, so Shackleton and five others took one of the lifeboats, dubbed James Caird, in an attempt to return to South Georgia for help. The lifeboat was modified with raised sides and a sailcloth cover to keep out the weather. The 800 mile journey, which took them across some of the coldest and roughest waters in the world, lasted two weeks. The navigator, Frank Worsley, was only able to get three accurate readings of their location due to unfavorable conditions. He was, however, able to find South Georgia – a remote island only thirty miles across – through pure dead reckoning.

Unfortunately, they landed on the wrong side of the island. Grytviken whaling station was still twenty-six miles away. Shackleton and two others drove nails through the soles of their boots to find purchase on the icy terrain and set off on foot, armed with an adze and a length of rope to traverse steep cliffs. On May 20 they reached the station, and after three months and four attempts, Shackleton returned to Elephant Island to rescue the rest of his crew. Two years had passed since Endurance first set sail, and not a single life was lost.

The wreckage of Endurance was found on March 5, 2022. Frank Worsley’s excellent navigation skills and detailed diary led to the ship’s discovery, 9,869 ft below the surface, over 80 years after it sank.

For those interested:

Butler, George, director. The Endurance. Performance by Liam Neeson, 2000.

Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. Basic Books, 2014.